


And Helios Smiled

by th3rm0pyl43



Series: Secundae [1]
Category: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Genre: Adam Jensen Is A Savior, Alcohol Withdrawal, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Inspired by The Fall of Icarus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Talos Rucker Lives, Temporary relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/th3rm0pyl43/pseuds/th3rm0pyl43
Summary: Talos doesn't need to know this man's name to be sure he is the sign he's been waiting for.
Relationships: Talos Rucker/Adam Jensen
Series: Secundae [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1510913
Kudos: 13





	And Helios Smiled

Talos didn't need to know this man's name to be certain that he was the sign he'd been waiting for. His Icarus, perhaps, daring to touch the sun.

He was taller than the security footage had made him appear. Lean of stature, prominently displaying a gleaming pair of sleek black Sarif arms with a sleeveless suit of armor. Golden lenses covering his eyes. 

And a blade extending from one forearm.

“I’m unarmed,” Talos called, dread gripping his gut. Many wanted his head on a plate, he knew, but most assassins wouldn’t risk their hide for even the most prominent hit. 

Then again, this man didn’t look like an assassin.

“I’m sure you’ll understand if I don’t take your word for it.”

Talos sighed and briefly closed his eyes. “You’re clearly very skilled,” he noted. “No one reported any disturbances at all. I must commend you.” His whiskey-fogged gaze searched for… answers, he supposed.

“What did you hope to gain by coming here?” he asked.

The blade slid back and tucked itself away again, intricate inner workings glittering for a fleeting moment before curved panels closed like a door falling shut in his face. “I’m here to take you in, Rucker.”

Talos found himself looking up, eyes having lingered on the blade. Up close, the man was… beautiful. He wondered if perhaps he was his very own angel of death, come to have him judged for crimes he had not committed.

He offered him a sad smile. “The train station bombing, isn’t it? I expected as much. Tearing me out of my nest won’t lead you to find anything you don’t already know.”

“Then why is everyone but the people down there so sure that ARC is behind it?” A finger pointed past him and out of the window like a knife held to his throat.

“Because I am an inconvenience,” Talos replied matter-of-factly. “And the most convenient scapegoat, if you will.” He rose on slightly wobbly feet, picking up his nearly empty glass. “Because I have remained true to my principles, their suspicion of me has only grown, and this is simply the logical consequence of ARC being smeared and discredited time and time again. The message they are spreading - that ARC is out for blood - is what they want to be true.”

He raised his glass to empty it, but then there was a hand covering it, golden knuckles far too close to his lips.

“I need you sober for this, Rucker,” the man said sternly, “or at least no more drunk than you already are.” 

Talos obediently put his glass back down, feeling like a scolded child. Warmth stained his cheeks that he immediately dismissed as his previous drinks just now taking effect.

“Who are _they_?”

“They?” Talos blinked fog out of his eyes. The man was about the same height as himself, but he felt… inadequate, somehow. Shameful. Unwashed and stinking of alcohol, clinging to the hope people needed by day and drowning his despair by night.

He was no leader like this.

“ _They_ are those who whisper from the shadows,” he said, his voice wavering as doubts crept back in. _Is this right? Am I not just conjuring ghosts?_ “Where all our puppet strings converge. Watching, controlling. This is only their latest attempt to silence a thorn in their side because their greatest enemy is the truth.”

Silence, then an intrigued tilt of the head. “What else do you know about the Illuminati?”

Talos exhaled sharply. “I know their desire for control is boundless, and they will stop at nothing to ensure no one will drag them into the light,” he said. “Cowards. I may not be a spotless beacon of virtue either, but at least I have the integrity to stand proud and let the people be my judge.”

“For things you claim you haven’t committed?”

He looked up, feeling helpless. “Do you even know what you want to hear?”

The man’s jaw clenched. “I’m with Interpol,” he replied coolly. “They want to hear your side of the story.”

A puff of hollow laughter escaped Talos, a sound he barely recognized himself. “ _My_ side of the story! There is no story. There is only injustice. The blatant lies, the hate, the violence. You’ve seen it for yourself down there!” He gestured outside the window. “The world’s eyes are on Prague _right now._ We Augmented are being blamed, and whether we - ARC - are behind the attack are not, how this is dealt with will set a precedent. An example for all to follow.”

“I don’t doubt that, Rucker,” the man conceded. “That’s why I’m here to make sure you get a chance to testify and tell everyone the truth without anybody interfering.”

“I don’t believe I am ready for that.” Talos caught himself wanting to reach for his glass again. “Not yet. There is trouble on the homefront that I can’t just let myself be taken away from. It would be too convenient - conflict brews within ARC, and an agent comes to arrest me without evidence that would warrant it.”

“But _are_ you involved in the train station attack?”

“ _No!_ ” Talos threw up his hands. “Why do you…” He broke off when a wave of dizziness washed over him, and held on to his desk to remain upright.

Only his own breath and the low rumble of machinery filled the room for a moment as he sat back down. He laid his head in his hands and grimaced. _This is not the way._

“Then stand by your principles,” the man implored him from above. “Show them your integrity by coming with me willingly if you really have nothing to hide. Why resist arrest when you’re innocent? Why make the lies come true and give them more reasons to hurt people like us?”

Everything that Talos had been denying and repressing came crashing down on him all at once. 

He was right. 

If he came along quietly, he could tell the truth to people who would listen. The State Police terrorizing the Utulek Complex had already chosen their side, no doubt, but surely Interpol was above rumors and hate. 

“Whoever’s out for your blood, ARC or not, will have to go through me first.”

Surely his archangel would keep his promise.

“I…” Talos swallowed, his throat dry. “I will come with you,” he muttered weakly. “But there are things I have to tell you first.”

Heaving a deep breath, he straightened and instinctively reached for his glass. This time, the man didn’t stop him, and he held it up with a hand that should be trembling, staring at the amber dregs inside… and, with an uncoordinated swing, hurled it across the room and savored the sound of it shattering into a hundred shards.

The man looked after it, and Talos’s gaze lingered on him again. Heavens, he truly was beautiful. What gemstones for eyes hid behind those opaque lenses? Was his body as much of a work of art as Talos imagined?

Would his wings burn if he embraced the sun?

Talos pushed himself to his feet and put the momentum into knocking the carafe off his desk for good measure. While the whiskey spilled all over the floor and filled the room with an even more revolting stench, he produced a keycard from a drawer and turned to approach a section of the wall behind his desk.

“I believe I have evidence of an Illuminati sleeper agent inside ARC,” he stated, holding the card to a reader and pressing a button, at which a part of the wall slid aside to reveal a luxuriously furnished secret room. “I suspect it is my right-hand man, Viktor Marchenko. He is… far more zealous than I when it comes to asserting our cause. And unfortunately, not as steadfast in remaining non-violent. Many are beginning to question my leadership and flocking to him instead.”

The man cautiously followed him into the room. His suspicion was entirely reasonable, Talos told himself, but in some strange way it felt like a rejection.

“I’ve kept it here in this safe. See for yourself…”

He unlocked the safe sitting on a shelf and reached inside, presenting a pocket secretary to him. 

_SPOKE TO H.K._

_PHASE 1 IS GO._

_DEL'VR ORCHID ASAP THEN MAINT'N COVR._

_REST OF CELL ON STDBY._

_ADD.L ORDRS TO FLLW._

_JM_

Finally his impassive expression changed. "Oh, damn it all to hell."


End file.
